Widely used is a liquid crystal display device with a system in which a liquid crystal layer of twist-arranged nematic liquid crystal is interposed between two orthogonal polarizing plates and an electric field is applied in the perpendicular direction to the substrate, so-called TN mode. In the system, since the liquid crystal rises relative to the substrate at the time of black level, when viewed from an oblique direction, birefringence due to the liquid crystal molecule generates and light leakage occurs. To solve the problem, a system, in which a film in which liquid crystalline molecules are hybrid-aligned is used to optically compensate for a liquid crystal cell and prevent the light leakage, has been put into practical use. However, even when liquid crystalline molecules are used, it is very difficult to optically compensate for a liquid crystal cell completely without problem, thereby resulting in such problem that graduation reversal in the bottom of a screen can not completely suppressed.
In order to solve such problem, there have been proposed and put into practical use a liquid crystal display device according to so-called in-plane switching (IPS) mode and fringe field (FFS) in which a lateral electric field is applied to the liquid crystal, and vertical alignment (VA) mode in which a liquid crystal having negative permittivity anisotropy is vertically aligned and alignment-divided by a protrusion or slit electrode formed in a panel. Recently, these panels are being developed not only for monitor application but also for TV application, and, concurrently, luminance of the screen has been significantly improved. Therefore, slight light leakage in a diagonally oblique incident direction at the time of black level, which was conventionally not seen as a problem in these operation modes, has come to the surface as a cause of the lowering of display quality.
As one of means for improving hue or viewing angle at black level, arrangement of an optical compensatory material having birefringence property between a liquid crystal layer and a polarizing plate is also examined in IPS mode. For example, there is disclosed that, by arranging birefringence media having function of compensating increase and decrease in retardation of a liquid crystal layer in an inclined state while setting optical axes to be perpendicular with each other between a substrate and a polarizing plate, coloring when white level or gray level is looked from an oblique direction can be improved (see JP-A-9-80424).
Further, there are proposed a method in which an optical compensatory film composed of a styrene-based polymer having negative intrinsic birefringence or a discotic liquid crystalline compound is used (see JP-A-10-54982, JP-A-11-202323 and JP-A-9-292522), a method in which a film having positive birefringence and an optical axis within the plane thereof and a film having positive birefringence and an optical axis in the normal direction thereof are combined as an optical compensatory film (see JP-A-11-133408), a method in which a biaxial optical compensatory sheet having retardation of half wavelength is used (see JP-A-11-305217), and a method in which, while using a film having negative retardation as a protective film of a polarizing plate, an optical compensatory layer having positive retardation is provided on the surface thereof (see JP-A-10-307291).
On the other hand, in VA mode also, it is also know that a wider viewing angle property can be obtained by using two negative uniaxial retardation films having an optical axis in the direction perpendicular to the film surface above and below a liquid crystal cell, and that a more wider viewing angle property can be realized by additionally using a uniaxially-aligning retardation film having positive refractive index anisotropy with an in-plane retardation value of 100 nm for the LCD (see SID 97 DIGEST pp 845-848). There are disclosed such methods that number of retardation films is decreased while maintaining a similar compensating effect (see JP-A-11-95208), and that a cholesteric liquid crystal layer is used as a negative uniaxial retardation film (see JP-A-2003-15134 and JP-A-11-95208). Further, such method is also proposed as preventing light leakage by controlling wavelength dispersion of retardation of a retardation film (see JP-A-2002-221622).
However, since most of the proposed systems are systems in which viewing angle is improved by canceling anisotropy of birefringence of liquid crystal in a liquid crystal cell, there is such problem that light leakage on the basis of departure of the cross angle of polarizing axes from orthogonality when orthogonal polarizing plates are viewed from an oblique direction can not sufficiently solved. Further, it is very difficult to optically compensate for a liquid crystal cell completely without problem even in a system that is said to be capable of compensating this light leakage. In the method of JP-A-2002-221622 also, there is such problem that the wavelength dispersion of in-plane retardation is taken into consideration, but that the wavelength dispersion of retardation in the thickness direction is not taken into consideration and the effect of suppressing light leakage in oblique directions is insufficient. More importantly, there is such problem that complete compensation for light leakage of an incident light in an oblique direction is difficult for a polarizing plate at black level to result in occurrence of azimuthal angle dependency of color drift.
On the other hand, methods are proposed in which optical compensation is effected for originally colored STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode and ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefringence) mode for respective colors of a red color filter, a green color filter and a blue color filter independently from a front face to reduce coloring of a panel viewed from front direction (see JP-A-02-20825, JP-A-03-191327, JP-A-04-134322, JP-A-07-168190, JP-A-08-240798, JP-A-08-334619, JP-A-09-54212 and JP-A-10-20301). These pattern-form retardation films having different retardation for respective colors on color filters or at positions corresponding to color filters on a substrate facing to color filters. As a method for forming a retardation film arranged inside a cell, a method is published, in which a polymer liquid crystal material or a polymerizable liquid crystal material is applied in an intended optical thickness for respective colors, the liquid crystal is aligned, and then it is fixed to form the film. Further, JP-A-2004-240102 proposes an attempt to reduce coloring of black by combining the system with VA mode.
However, in order to form such retardation films having different Re for respective sub pixels of red, green and blue inside a cell, patterning extending even to three times is required. The increase in process number considerably pushes up cost to make actual practice of the process impossible. In addition, there is such problem that the patterning of a retardation film extending even to three times results in a very high defective product ratio caused by unevenness of the retardation film in the optical axis direction. Further, there is such problem that control of the gap is difficult because thick optical elements having different retardations are inserted inside the cell.